Flexible hermetically sealed connector

ABSTRACT

An electrical connection which has a flexible coupling boot that seals the connector members together, the connection having a system of flexible contacts that in association with the coupling boot permits three dimensional relative movement between the members while maintaining a hermetically sealed integrity.

United States Patent Inventor Albert G. Kurisu Westminster. Calif.

App1 No 863.005

Filed Aug. 29, 1969 Patented Aug. 10. 1971 Assignee The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy FLEXIBLE HERMETICALLY SEALED CONNECTOR 3 Claims, 8 Drawing Figs.

U.S.Cl..., 339/94 M, 339/1 18 R int. Cl t H0lr 13/52 Field of Search 339/5-8, 60, 64, 94,118

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,783,295 2/1957 Ewing 174/35 3,096,134 7/1963 Kanarek.... 339/150 3,371,147 2/1968 Daubenberger et a1. 174/35 3,487.353 12/1969 Massa t t t t 339/89 Primary Examiner-Joseph H. McGlynn Attorneys-J4 C. Warfield, Jr,, George J. Rubens and John W McLaren ABSTRACT: An electrical connection which has a flexible coupling boot that seals the connector members together. the connection having a system of flexible contacts that in association with the coupling boot permits three dimensional relative movement between the members while maintaining a hermetically sealed integrity.

PATENTEU AUG 1 0 I97! I 3599,170

sum 1 0F 2 I NVENTOR.

ALB RT 6. KUR/S'U BY 1 MM I WV ATTORNEYS ATENTEU AUBIOIBYI 3.599.170

' sum 2 0P2 INVENTOR ALB T G. KUR/SU BY M ATTORNEYS FLEXIBLE HERMETICALLY SEALED CONNECTOR STATEMENT OF GOVERNMENT INTEREST The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to electrical connectors and more particularly to such a connection between a traveling wave tube and its associated high voltage power supply.

The cathode, grid and filament potential of a typical traveling-wave-tube (TWT) is approximately -35 kv. below ground. Associated with the TWT is a .high voltage power supply (HVPS) and a modulator which are immersed in a dielectric fluid, i.e., a fluorochemical cooling liquid. The prior art prescribes the use of a separate oil tank into which the socket for the TWT gun structure is immersed and fitted to contacts to complete the electrical connections. Electrical connections from this socket tank. to the HVPS tank requires the use of sealed feed-throughs which are at high voltages. The fluid separation thus enables removaland installation of the TWT without contaminating the HVPS coolant.

The prior art employs a flexible metal bellows to provide three dimensional relative motion between the TWT and HVPS. This relative motion takeup is required to prevent structural damage to the TWT, being a very costly and fragile component. In one Navy installation, the HVPS is mounted on the deck and the TWT is mounted on aside cabinet wall, and any misalignment during installation or removal without allowance for such takeup may damage the tube. The metal bellows movement is by structure principally along its longitudinal axis. To obtain flexibility in the transverse plane to the axis of the TWT, a relatively long bellows is required to keep within safe stress levels of the bellows convolutions. Furthermore, the arrangement of a separate socket tank together with the metal bellows, both of which are at ground potential, results in an installation having a relatively large overall size for high voltage design.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention provides a hermetically sealed dielectric socket that closely conforms to the TWT gun structure. The socket is immersed in the I-IVPS bath with its external surfaces in contact with the liquid coolant thereby resulting in short electrical lead lengths to the HVPS circuitry. Thus, the separate ground potential oil tank and the high voltage feedthrough interconnecting the two baths are eliminated. The relative motion requirements between the TWT gun structure and the socket during installation and removal are met by the use of a resilient coupling boot, which also serves to hermetically seal electrical connection. Flexible contact fingers in the socket maintain electrical contact to the TWT throughout the relative motion between the TWT gun and respective socket.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a partial elevational view of an electrical connection illustrating a traveling-wave-tube connected to its socket mounted in a wall of a high voltage power supply tank, the socket'and tank being shown in section;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a resilient boot member for 'sealably connecting together the connector members;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross section of the boot member taken along line Ill-III of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of one of the contact finger assemblies taken along IV-IV of FIG. 1 showing the retainer clips and a terminal connector;

FIG. 5 is a partial expanded view of a contact finger strip;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross section of the contact finger assembly taken along line VIVI of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of a contact finger assembly terminal connector; and

FIG. 8 is an enlarged side elevation of a contact finger showing the retainer means.

Referring to the drawings where like reference numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawing, there is shown in FIG. 1 one embodiment of the novel invention applied to the connection of a travel-wave-tub'e (TWT) 10 with its associated circuitry. The TWT may be of a conventional type, the details of which need not be described herein. In one particular Naval installation, the TWT is supported at an upper end by brackets 12 to a cabinet wall, not shown. The lower male end of the TWT, being the gun portion 14, is adapted to be mated to a novel socket 16 which through employment of the present inv'entioncan be mounted in an upper tank wall 18 of a high voltage power supply (l-IVPS) 20 normally mounted on a deck, not shown. The HVPS tank, in which TWT socket 16 is immersed, is filled with a liquid dielectric oil 22, preferably of a fluorochemical type, which liquid functions as a coolant and to prevent the formation of any voids that would promote high voltage arcing.

As previously described 'the TWT is an expensive component costing approximately $15,000.00. During the installation and removal of the TWT, it is-an important requirement that there be a provision for permitting some degree of later dimensional nonalignment of the gunstructure with its mating socket to prevent stresses that may cause tube damage, i.e.,

breakage. It is also important that the TWT be installable and removable without affecting the sealed'integrity of the HVPS and associated equipment. These requirements are met in the instant case by the use of a resilient coupling boot 24 constructed of any suitable material, such as an elastomeric material Neoprene which provides a flexible connection between the gun structure of the TWT and its respective socket as well as functioning to seal the connection, as will be later described.

As is shown in FIGS. ll-3, boot 24 is ring-shaped conforming generally to the configuration of socket l6, and has a U- shaped cross-sectional configuration, being provided with a pair of lateral projecting integral legs 26 extending outwardly in spaced relation and terminating in inwardly directed lip portions 28. The surfaces of legs 36 and lips 28 are provided with nipples 30 to enhance sealing as will be described.

The lower portion of TWT i0 is provided with an integral flange 32 and an associated adapter plate 34 adapted to be clamped together by a plurality of circumferentially spaced bolts 36, one bolt being shown in FIG. I. The inner face of adapter plate 34 is provided with an annular slot 37 adapted to receive the upper boot leg 26 and its corresponding lip 28, the nipples 30 providing high unit pressure to ensure maximum sealing when the boot is clamped between flange 32 and plate 34.

TWT socket -16 comprises a cup-shaped housing 38 terminating in its upper end in an annular shoulder 40, the housing formed preferably of a high temperature thermoplastic which has the required electrical properties, i.e., Delrin. A mounting plate 42 is welded to wall 18 of the HVPS. Socket shoulder 40 is secured to plate 42 by a plurality of circumferentially spaced bolts 46.

Plate 42 and socket shoulder 40 are provided with oppositely disposed annular slots 48 and 49, respectively, to receive the lower boot leg 26 and associated lip 28 to be clamped between plate 42 and socket shoulder 40 and seal this interface with tank 20.

Thus, the legs of boot 24 provides a resilient static seal between the mounting interfaces of flange 32 and plate 34, and of plate 42 and shoulder 40, respectively, and the body of boot 24 provides a degree of relative movement between their associated components. Accordingly, TWT can be removed and reinstalled without affecting the integrity of tank 20.

The upper surface of mounting plate 42 is provided with an annular slot 50 for seating a radio frequency interference seal ring gasket 52; which slidably contacts the lower surface of TWT adapter plate 34 without restricting relative movement between the plate assemblies.

The cavity of TWT socket 16 contains a plurality of flexible contact finger assemblies 54, 56, and 58 adapted to be electrically connected to the TWT grid, cathode, and heater through their fixed contacts 60, 62, and 64, respectively. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the three contact assemblies are concentrically disposed in longitudinally spaced relationship to facilitate con necting and disconnecting.

The details of each flexible contact assemblies are identical except for differences in diameter, the details of heater assembly 58 being representative and illustrated in FIGS. 48, inclusive. Each flexible contact assembly comprises a single strip 66 of shelf stock material, i.e., beryllium-copper, shown in a stretched-out condition in FIG. 5, and fabricated such as by stamping with a plurality of downwardly extending integral flexible fingers 68 best shown in FIG. 6. These contact fingers maintain electrical contact with the corresponding fixed TWT contact 64 in any of its relative adjusted positions with the socket which is permitted by the elastomeric boot 24. Strip 66 is bent into a circular configuration (as in FIG. 4) with the ends held together by a floating rivet 70 that extends through apertures 72 and 74, the latter being elongated to provide a degree of expandability. A plurality of wire segments 76 are soldered or otherwise secured to the outer peripheral skirt edge of strip 66 in spaced relation thereabout, each wire strip adapted to fit into a corresponding annular groove 78 in the well of socket 38 to retain the flexible contact assembly in proper alignment within the socket. Additional support for each of the three flexible contact assemblies within the socket is obtained by a respective terminal connection 80 by which socket 16 is electrically connected to the HVPS circuitry. Connection 80 comprises a terminal bolt 82 (FIG. 1) adapted to be threaded to a terminal nut 84 which may be soldered or otherwise secured to the terminal strip 66 midway at opening 85 in contact assemblies 54 and 56, or via an angle 86 in heater contact assembly 58 to permit a right angle connection through the bottom of the socket. A static washer seal 88 (FIG. 1) is positioned between bolt 82 and socket 16 to maintain the sealed integrity at the feed-through connections.

The socket well is filled with the same type of dielectric liquid 22 for cooling gun structure 14 as is used in the HVPS tank, leaving sufficient space in the socket to be filled by the liquid vapor. There is approximately a 20 percent increase in volume of the liquid coolant over the temperature range minus 65 to plus 65 C., and a portion of the volumetric expansion is taken up by the compression of resilient boot 24. Thus, excessive pressure buildup or air voids are avoided in the socket well that would otherwise promote arcing due to the high voltages being used. A more effective cooling of the gun can be obtained where required by employing boiling transfer method at the heat source and condensation transfer at TWT flange 32, in which case a suitable volatile dielectric li uid should be employed.

he present invention provides a flexible, hermetically sealed connector that when used in a TWT connection will permit installation and removal of the tube without affecting the integrity of the fluid cooled power supply and associated equipment. in addition, the resilient boot provides a sufficient degree of three dimensional relative movement between the TWT and l-lVPS to avoid structural damage to the TWT during installation and removal, especially in an environment where the TWT and the HVPS are mounted on different supporting structures. The contact finger assembly provides continuity of the electrical connection throughout any movement of the components permitted by the resilient boot. By use of the present invention the installation enables the assembled connection to be more compact, to have better electrical function and at a reduced cost.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What I claim is:

1. An electrical connector assembly comprises:

a pair of connector members including a male member and a socket member;

a resilient boot adapted to connect said members;

said boot being ring-shaped and having a U-shaped crosssectional configuration directed radially outwardly;

one member having flexible contacts adapted to engage the contacts of the other member;

means for securing said boot to each of said members whereby to permit relative displacement between said members while maintaining electrical continuity.

2. The connector of claim 1 wherein:

each of said members has an integral flange portion and an associated plate portion at least one of which have an annular slot,

the leg portion of the U-shaped configuration of said resilient boot adapted to be received within the corresponding slots;

said means securing said leg portions between the flange and associated plate.

3. The connector of claim 2 wherein:

each leg portion of the boot has an enlarged lip portion adapted to fit into a corresponding portion in the groove. 

1. An electrical connector assembly comprises: a pair of connector members including a male member and a socket member; a resilient boot adapted to connect said members; said boot being ring-shaped and having a U-shaped crosssectional configuration directed radially outwardly; one member having flexible contacts adapted to engage the contacts of the other member; means for securing said boot to each of said members whereby to permit relative displacement between said members while maintaining electrical continuity.
 2. The connector of claim 1 wherein: each of said members has an integral flange portion and an associated plate portion at least one of which have an annular slot, the leg portion of the U-shaped configuration of said resilient boot adapted to be received within the corresponding slots; said means securing said leg portions between the flange and associated plate.
 3. The connector of claim 2 wherein: each leg portion of the boot has an enlarged lip portion adapted to fit into a corresponding portion in the groove. 